(Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy’s full press conference can be seen below)

Below is the full column written by The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson that set Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy off on the paper and the editor. In her article, Carlson says OSU quarterback Bobby Reid was benched because of his attitude, despite being the best signal-caller on the roster. Carlson wrote “Does he have the fire in his belly? Or does he want to be coddled, babied, perhaps even fed chicken?” Carlson also accused him of threatening to transfer. “Word is that Reid has considered transferring a couple different times, the first as early as 2005. Reid, then a redshirt freshman, was facing competition from returner Donovan Woods, and apparently, Reid considered leaving OSU just because he had to compete for the spot.”

OSU coach Mike Gundy took exception to the article, and had strong words for Carlson and the paper after last week’s game. In his press conference, which can also be seen below, Gundy calls the paper and the editor garbage, and says that three-quarters of what was put in the article was untrue. Without further ado, here’s both sides of the story.

REID IS STILL THE MOST TALENTED SIGNAL-CALLER, BUT ATTITUDE IS REASON FOR CHANGE

Jenni Carlson

Oklahoman

STILLWATER — Bobby Reid stood near the team charters last Friday night, using his cell phone, eating his boxed meal.

It would’ve been normal post-game activity but for one thing.

His mother was feeding him chicken.

Which brings us to the quarterback switch-a-roo at Oklahoma State.

Don’t see the connection?

Let me explain. Cowboy coaches have gone full-speed ahead with the Zac Attack, opting to start Robinson over Reid a week ago, then sticking with him against Texas Tech today even after an embarrassing loss at Troy. Weren’t we being told just last week that Reid was still the guy? All the weight with which Cowboy coaches were backing Reid has totally shifted to Robinson.

The change seems sudden.

Thing is, it may not be as abrupt as it looks. If you believe the rumors and the rumblings, Reid has been pushing coaches that way for quite some time.

Tile up the back stories told on the sly over the past few years, and you see a pattern that hasn’t always been pretty.

Word is that Reid has considered transferring a couple different times, the first as early as 2005. Reid, then a redshirt freshman, was facing competition from returner Donovan Woods, and apparently, Reid considered leaving OSU just because he had to compete for the spot.

Reid‘s nerves have also been an issue. Earlier this year, he told our Andrea Cohen about his game-day emotions.

“I get sweaty palms. I get the butterflies in my stomach. I sweat lot,” he said then. “I’ve been playing this game for 15 years. And I can honestly say every game I’ve played in, I’ve been nervous. It’s not so much me being scared; I just get to a point where I start worrying about a lot of things I can’t control.”

A lot of guys get nervous, some even puke before games. How you handle the nerves is important, though, and Reid hasn’t always managed them well. He has gotten off to some extremely slow starts, putting the Cowboys in some holes. Some, they dug out of, with Reid often wielding the biggest shovel, and some, they couldn’t.

Then, there have been the injuries. No doubt some of Reid‘s ailments have been severe, including an injured shoulder that required surgery and forced him to redshirt. Other times, though, Reid has been nicked in games and sat it out instead of gutting it out.

Injuries are tricky, of course. You don’t want a guy to put himself in harm’s way if he’s really hurt, and yet, football is one of those sports in which everyone plays hurt. Aches and pains, bumps and bruises are part of the gig.

Reid‘s injury against Florida Atlantic — whatever it was — appeared minor but just might have been the thing that pushed Cowboy coaches over the edge. Even though Mike Gundy said last week that Robinson got the nod because he had the better week of practice, insiders say that the coaches decided to bench Reid early in the week. The bottom line: The switch is less about Robinson’s play and more about Reid‘s attitude.

“The coaches made a decision,” Reid told our Mike Baldwin after the Troy game. “I just have to go with it, get better and get back on the field.”

There’s something to be said for not being a malcontent, but you can almost see Reid shrugging his shoulders as he says those words. Does he have the fire in his belly?

Or does he want to be coddled, babied, perhaps even fed chicken?

That scene in the parking lot last week had no bearing on the Cowboys changing quarterbacks, and yet, it said so much about Reid. A 21-year-old letting his mother feed him in public? Most college kids, much less college football players, would just as soon be seen running naked across campus.

And what of the scene television cameras captured earlier that evening of Reid on the sidelines laughing with assistant strength coach Trumain Carroll? The same cameras showed him throwing his cap in disgust after a missed play earlier, but to be laughing in the final minutes of an embarrassing loss is bad form.

A lot of people have been saying Gundy lost his cool, and went overboard, but the fact is, he did exactly the right thing. He made sure the media was not going to get away with downgrading his players. He set the precedent that his team and players come first. And, if he didn’t already have it, which would surprise me, he gained the respect of everybody involved with Oklahoma State football, and nearly every college football spectator.

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2 Responses to “Carlson attacks Reid, Gundy Attacks Carlson”

Okay, so right now, I’m supposed to be writing a short “column” on Jenni Carlson. So, I’m doing some research.

Here’s the funny part: I’m a student at Oklahoma State University. She came and spoke to my Sports Media class yesterday. Can you imagine how that went? We were told we had a “guest speaker.” She got in front of our class and said, “Hi, my name is Jenni Carlson” and I swear my entire class’ jaw hit the floor. What was our professor thinking? It was interesting, to say the least. She ran in circles the entire time when we asked her “What were you thinking?” “We understand your point, but why did you insult him?” It was awful and I just wanted to laugh the whole time. Her first mistake was saying, “Sure I’ll go speak to a some OSU students.” OBVIOUSLY we’re OSU students who are interested in Sports or we wouldn’t be in the damn class…

But I completely back Gundy up just as most of the students at OSU do. What really got me was saying: “Does he have the fire in his belly? Or does he want to be coddled, babied, perhaps even fed chicken?” What was the point of saying that? You aren’t making a point, you’re insulting him! Well anyways, I just wanted to share this little ironic and humorous story. I’m done with my rant.